IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE GLOBE. l77 



the Cereus and large Sterculiads, with fusiform stems ( Chorisia 

 ventricosd), constitute nearly the whole of the vegetation. In 

 the great forest (Monte Grande), which is reached immediately 

 before the Rio Grande, the Saro forms, witli the plants last 

 named, large zones, which alternate with otlier zones formed for 

 the most part of Myrtleblooms, Eugenia caulifloi-a especially, 

 and two great Myrtus, which I found in full fruit. 



Amongst the herbaceous plants wiiicli I noticed in this journey 

 the Bromeliads above all demand mention ; nowliere did I ever see 

 more of these plants than here. Several species of Bromelia 

 cover the soil of the forest in many parts with their dangerous 

 rosettes. Of the Epiphytes the most attractive is the beautiful 

 Vriesia, called by the Spaniards Flor del Aire ; in places there 

 is hardly a tree which this plant does not ornament, hanging 

 by tendrils at the end of its leaves, and balancing its long spikes 

 of purple flowers in the damp air below.* 



On the 13th of October I reached the Rio Grande, which was 

 then half dry ; and the next day, after rapidly crossing 10 miles 

 of sandy country, I reached Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The 

 environs of this place had been before explored by naturalists, 

 and my state of health did not permit me to quit the town. On 

 the 22nd of November, 1845, I resumed my journey and pro- 

 ceeded towards Tarija, in the south of Bolivia, distant about 

 200 leagues from where I then was ; this was one of the most 

 difficult tasks I have ever taken in hand. 



As soon as the traveller has crossed the Rio Grande de 

 Cliiquitos he may be considered to have entered the subandine 

 region ; for not far from there he falls in with gigantic spurs 

 proceeding from the great chain of which they form, as it were, 

 the ribs. The vegetation is very different from that of Brazil. 

 The absence of tliose tracts of land which have been described 

 xmder the name of Campos was very marked. In their place 

 are found large plains covered with a herbaceous vegetation, 

 which, though common in Europe, are very rare in those parts 

 of Brazil ever visited by me. When tl)ey are of considerable 

 extent these prairies are called Pampas ; when they are smaller 

 and bounded, by forests for example, they are known by the name 

 of Potreros. 



The first day's journey on my way to Tarija was across a 

 Pampa. The next day, and part of the one following that, were 

 passed in a large forest of Guaypurus (Huaypourous), with 



* It is a question often mooted as to how far a plant can be nourished by 

 the absorption of its leaves. The present plant and another of the same 

 family, Tillandsia itsiieoides, are cases in point ; for although both of them 

 have roots when young, these are after a time destroyed, and the plants still 

 continue to live, suspended between earth and sky. 



VOL. VI. O 



